Meijin (shogi)

Meijin(名人?) is one of the seven titles in Japanese professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryu-oh. This should not be confused with the "Amateur Meijin" title that is awarded each year to the winner of the Amateur Meijin Tournament. The word "meijin" means "an excellent person" in a certain field. ("mei"(名) = excellent, artful) ("jin"(人) = person)

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The Meijin institution started in the 17th century (Edo period), and for around 300 years was a hereditary title that was passed from the reigning Meijin upon his retirement or death to another selected from three families, as deemed to be worthy.[1][2] In 1935, however, the Japan Shogi Association[ja](日本将棋連盟,nihon shōgi renmei?), or JSA, announced that it was abolishing the existing system of succession in favor of something more short-term and reflective of actual playing strength. In 1937, the reigning 13th Meijin Kinjiro Sekine[ja], who had received his title under the old system and was 70 years old at the time, voluntarily gave up his title so that a new Meijin could be decided through actual tournament play. Later that year Yoshio Kimura[ja], who was a student of Sekine, became the first Meijin to gain the title based upon actual performance by winning a tournament which included eight other top players. From 1937 to 1947, the challenger for the Meijin title was determined through tournaments involving a select number of players. Finally, in 1947, the JSA officially established the preliminary round of ranking tournaments (順位戦,jun'isen?) that it currently uses.[3]

The Meijin ranking tournaments are divided into five leagues/classes (A, B1, B2, C1, C2) and players compete against others within their class throughout the year. Players who perform well during league play may be promoted to the next highest class while those who perform poorly may be relegated to the next lowest one.[4] New professionals are placed at the bottom of the Class C2 league, and the top three players of Class C2 are promoted to Class C1 for the next year. Similarly, the top two players of Classes C1, B2, B1 are promoted to the B2, B1, and A, respectively, for the next year. The winner of the Class A league earns the right to challenge the reigning Meijin title holder in a 7-game match for the title.[4] A new professional, therefore, needs at least five years experience (5 successive promotions) after their debut before they can qualify to challenge for the title of Meijin.[5]

The Lifetime Meijin (永世名人,eisei meijin?) title was established by the JSA in 1952. Players who capture the Meijin title five times (does not have to be consecutive) qualify to receive this title, but are only officially awarded it upon their retirement or death.[6][7]

(1st - 13th: determined through succession)

14th Lifetime Meijin: Yoshio Kimura (Qualified for title in 1946 at age 41. Awarded in 1952 upon retirement)

15th Lifetime Meijin: Yasuharu Ōyama (Qualified for title at age 33 in 1956. Awarded in 1976[a])

16th Lifetime Meijin: Makoto Nakahara[ja] (Qualified for title at age 29 in 1976. Awarded in 2007,[8] prior to his retirement in 2009[9] )

17th Lifetime Meijin: Koji Tanigawa[ja] (Qualified for title at age 35 in 1997.[10] Still active)

Below is a list of past Meijin title holders from 1937 when the new method for determining the title holder was established. The number in parenthesis represents the culmulative times the player had won the title to date.[13]

^Although typically awarded upon retirement or death, a special exception was made for Ōyama and he was officially awarded the title while still active in special recognition of his excellent results in professional play, including being the Meijin for 13 years in a row from 1959 to 1971.

^12-player preliminary tournament held and top four finishers awarded "reserve qualifier" status. Each reserve qualifier then played a 3-game half-handicap non-title match against Kimura: Kimura alternated between giving a lance handicap and no handicap. Reserve qualifiers had to win their respective 3-game match to gain the right to challenge Kimura in a 7-game match for the title. (A playoff was to be held if multiple reserve qualifiers won their respective matches.) Since Kimura won all of the half-handicap matches, no reserve qualifier was able qualify as his challenger.

^A tournament to determine a challenger for Kimura did start, but was cancelled while in progress due to the Second World War

^The JSA unable to come to terms with Asahi Shimbun, the match's sponsor, over the prize fund. The JSA requested that the total prize fund be increased from 11,000,000 yen to 30,000,000 yen, but Asahi Shimbun refused. Negotiations were held in attempt to find a compromise, but were unsuccessful and the Asahi Shimbun's sponsorship of the match was ended.

^Nakahara is next with 15, followed by Kimura, Moriuchi, and Habu with eight apiece, and Tanigawa with five. Only Tanigawa, Habu and Moriuchi are still active.

^Habu lost the title for first time in 1997, but won it back in 2003. He lost the title again in 2004, only to recapture it for the second time in 2008. He lost title for the third time in 2011, but recaptured it again three years later in 2014.[16]

^ abShōgikai no Ichiban Nagai Hi: Dai Nanajūsanki A Kyū Jun'isen Saishūkyoku将棋界の一番長い日: 第73期A級順位戦最終局 [Shogi's Longest Day: The Final Round of the 73rd Class A Ranking League] (Television production) (in Japanese). NHK Educational TV. 29 March 2015. Event occurs at 8:33. 順位戦は全部で5つのクラスがあります。その中で一番上がA級です。そしてA級優勝者が名人に挑戦します。そして, 順位戦は各クラスとも一年間のリーグ戦です...成績上位者は上のクラスに行くことができるんですが, 成績が悪いと降級してしまういうわけなんです。[The are a total of 5 ranking leagues. Class A is the top league and the winner earns the right to challenge the current Meijin. Each of the ranking leagues last one year; Those who finish at the top of their respective league may be promoted to the next highest league, and those who finish at the bottom may be relegated to the next lowest league.